A group of Mount Kinabalu tourists were arrested and charged with public obscenity for taking a nude photo. Believe it or not, a Malaysian official also claimed that the scandalous photo taken by the European and Canadian tourists caused the June 5 earthquake that left 18 people dead.
Four tourists, who took nude pictures on Mount Kinabalu, have been arrested. Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan was eager to arrest the tourists because he sincerely believes that the photo caused the Mount Kinabalu earthquake earlier this month that killed climbers and left hundreds stranded. According to Fox News:
The June 5 quake was centered northwest of Ranau district in Sabah state on Borneo at a depth of 34 miles, Malaysia’s meteorological department said. Local media said rescuers recovered two bodies from 4,095-meter Mount Kinabalu believed to be of a local guide and a 12-year-old female Singaporean student.
Police in Malaysia have arrested and charged the tourists with public obscenity for taking nude photos atop Malaysia’s Mount Kinabalu. The trekkers composed of a Canadian brother and sister by the names of Lindsey Petersen, 23, and Danielle Petersen, 22, a British woman, Eleanor Hawkins, and a Dutch man, Dylan Snel, have been jailed for four days as authorities investigate the matter.
If found guilty, the foursome might be in jail for at least three months. On May 30, while visiting Mount Kinabalu, the four tourists left their guide and took a series of topless pictures on the sacred mountain and shared them on Facebook. Taking naked pictures in famous places is nothing new, people have been taking nude photos while sightseeing the Machu Picchu and the Banteay Kdei temple for years.
Joseph Pairin Kitingan, deputy chief minister of the Malaysian state of Sabah, held a press conference where he claimed that the scandalous photo is the cause of the recent earthquake. Kitingan said:
“There is almost certainly a connection. We have to take this as a reminder that local beliefs and customs are not to be disrespected.”
The official went on to say that he had a premonition that a natural disaster was looming after seeing a flight of swallows circling outside his house during breakfast. He confessed:
“At first I didn’t think anything of it, but after it went on for more than half an hour I knew something was not well. I brought it up with my wife and we bought agreed that something bad was going to happen. The next day, I was on the way to the airport when the earthquake occurred. To me, when something like this happens, it is a clear connection of the incident to the earthquake that has brought about so much damage and loss of lives.”
Emil Kaminski, who was with the trekkers, who got arrested, is slamming the official in a video. Kaminski said in his rant:
“Oh, Malaysia, why are your politicians so stupid? Some deranged [expletive] has linked earthquakes and mountaintop nudity.”
Do the mountain gods wear clothes???
Some people have no respect for historical monuments. But that official was hilarious and crazy to think a pictured provoked the quake.